Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

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Facebook rejects most information requests from Swiss authorities

Over the first three months of 2018 Switzerland’s authorities made 80 requests for Facebook user data, however two thirds of them were rejected, according to the newspaper SonntagsBlick as reported in 20 Minutes. When the requests were urgent the response rate rose to two thirds of requests.

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Public transport enjoys another record year among tourists

Foreign visitors spent 6.4% more on Swiss Travel System tickets in 2018 than in the previous year. Sales rose to over CHF130 million ($131 million). 2018 is thus the sixth record year in a row, the Swiss Federal Railways said on Tuesday. Chinese guests were the top foreign users of public transport, with sales of CHF20.3 million, an increase of 14.9%.

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Swiss Rail shares bumper profits with passengers

In 2018, Swiss Rail made a profit of CHF 568 million, 42.5% more than in 2017. Part of the rise was due to higher than average spending on maintenance in 2017. It is worth noting that Swiss Rail receives a large sum from taxpayers every year. In 2018, the company received CHF 3.5 billion of public funding, CHF 2.7 billion of it booked as income.

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Swiss fear effects of 5G antennas

Fifth-generation (5G) mobile communications antennas are starting to go up in Switzerland. Not everyone is happy about this. — swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or …

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Partner with Investec

We live in a complex, ever-changing world. One that’s best navigated with an Out of the Ordinary partner. https://invest.ec/2U3fUP6 #partnerwithInvestec

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Swiss chocolate consumption slides

In 2018, Switzerland’s population consumed around 87,000 tonnes of chocolate. However, average chocolate consumption dropped from 10.5 kg per person in 2017 to 10.3 kg in 2018, a decline of roughly 2%. This decline reflects last year’s longer hotter summer, according to the industry association Chocosuisse.

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Additional flaw found in Swiss Post e-voting system

A second error in the Swiss Post planned e-voting system has been discovered as the public intrusion test phase comes to an end. The Federal Chancellery announced the need for action and confirmed a review of the e-voting certification and approval process. The same computer experts who discovered a critical error in the source code of Swiss Post’s new e-voting system earlier this month announced they discovered a further security gap.

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1999: Chinese president snubs Swiss government

On March 25, 1999, Chinese President Jiang Zemin was confronted by pro-Tibetan protesters upon his arrival at the seat of parliament in Bern. Furious, he refused to participate in a guard of honour or to greet government members waiting to receive him. In his speech, he sharply criticised the Swiss authorities, accusing them of not …

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UBS Swiss Desks

Connexions parfaites. Fischer Connectors réinvente la connectique depuis 1954 et se fie aux experts UBS sur place pour ses opérations à l’étranger. En savoir plus maintenant.

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Swiss parliament calls for more online purchases to be taxed

Since 1 January 2019, companies abroad making more than CHF 100,000 in revenue must charge Swiss VAT on sales made to anyone in Switzerland. Now the Swiss government has decided to take aim at online platforms such as Aliexpress and Wish, according to the broadcaster RTS.

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Swiss join protests against EU copyright reform

Tens of thousands of people across Europe, including in the Swiss city of Zurich, staged protests on Saturday against the European Union's planned copyright reform bill. More than 1,000 demonstrators marched in the northeastern Switzerland against the copyright reforms which critics fear threaten freedom of speech, according to the Keystone-SDA news agency.

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Switzerland waives post-Brexit visa requirement for British nationals

The Swiss government has dropped the requirement that British nationals obtain a visa to enter Switzerland for a lengthy stay after Britain leaves the European Union. The British government has also extended the same privilege to Swiss nationals wishing to enter Britain after Brexit.

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Wunschdenken von Frau BR Amherd

Das VBS hat seit dem neuen Jahr eine Cheffin. Anlässlich der SOG-DV vom 16. März 2019 hat sie sich an die Offiziere gewandt und dabei einige interessante Äusserungen (Hervorhebungen durch den Autor) gemacht, so etwa zu den “Entwicklungen im internationalen Streitkräftebereich”:

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Parliament rejects reform of health insurance scheme

Patients will not have to pay out extra money for health services before the health insurance covers the costs, after parliament surprisingly threw out the controversial proposal on Friday. In a previous decision earlier this month, parliament had agreed to increase the deductible paid by patients to CHF350 ($350) annually under certain conditions.

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Swiss companies make contingency plans amid Brexit uncertainty

As the Brexit saga continues, Swiss companies are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. But optimism is waning among companies that are trying to minimise disruptions from any deal/no-deal scenarios. With the UK’s departure from the EU scheduled for March 29, British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday asked the EU bloc to postpone the UK’s departure until June 30.

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Record-setting balloon flight marks 20th anniversary

It’s 20 years since the Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon circumnavigated the world, piloted by Swiss balloonist Bertrand Piccard and his English counterpart Brian Jones. — swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles, …

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Top Swiss institutes launch joint cyber-security programme

Switzerland’s federal technology institutes have launched a new Masters degree in cyber-security as part of an effort to play a leading role in studying the protection of computers and networks. The two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology, Lausanne's EPFL and Zurich's ETH, already offer “world-class training in the fields of computing and information technology," said education and research minister Guy Parmelin at the announcement of the new...

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Luca Hänni raises Swiss Eurovision hopes

Switzerland has enjoyed little success at the annual Eurovision Song Contest in recent years but the tide may be about to turn. This year, the Alpine country will be represented by Luca Hänni, a Swiss singer-songwriter and model, best known for winning the German talent show, “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” (Germany in search of a …

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EPFL marks 50 years of scientific progress

Over the past five decades, the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) has been the home of many scientific discoveries, some with global reverberations. — swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more …

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Report urges more sustainability from Swiss financial centre

Switzerland must make its financial centre more sustainable and transparent to ensure it doesn’t lose access to the European market, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers seen by Swiss public radio, RTS. This conclusion was part of an assessment carried out by the consulting firm and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which analysed the consequences of the European Union’s action plan on financing sustainable growth, due to be presented to...

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